British Airways is offering a great deal on flights from the US and Canada. Purchase a round-trip ticket in most classes of service( except non-refundable fares) between now and Dec. 31 2008 (travel for the qualifying ticket must be completed by Dec 31 2008) and receive a voucher by email for a Free companion ticket.

Note: You must be a British Airways "Executive Club" member to take advantage of this special.If you are not a member you can sign up very easily by clicking here.

After signing in as an Executive Club member, you must also REGISTER for this offer as well by clicking here and then going to "Register for offer".

Here is how it works:

1) Buy a round-trip ticket at qualifying World Traveler Fares that must be used by Dec 31, 2008.See British Airways site for details.

3) Book a ticket from Jan 5, 2009 until Jun 30, 2009 for travel from Jan 15, 2009 until Dec 15, 2009.Member and companion must book all flights and classes of service together and travel together on all segments.Get companion ticket Free excluding taxes.

Please see British Airways , scroll down and click "Show full terms and conditions" for complete details.

European Union airlines will this week be banned from hiding taxes and extra charges when advertising their flights, the EU's executive said on Thursday.

The European Commission also said its new regulations on air services, which come into force on Saturday, gives European nations extra powers to prevent airline bankruptcies, which often leave passengers stranded.

"Airlines will be required to include all taxes and charges in the final price of the ticket... and this from the moment of publicising the prices," a Commission spokesman told a daily briefing.

"That means no hidden charges, no hidden fees or taxes, full transparency and the possibility of informed choices," he added.

The rules also prevent carriers from charging different prices for the same flight if booked from different national web sites.

And to reduce the risk of airline start-ups going bankrupt they will have to provide more information about their financial resources to national authorities.

"If an air carrier can no longer meet its actual and potential obligations for a 12 month period, the authority shall suspend or revoke the operating license," said a statement.

The new rules come into force as airlines struggle with a cocktail of high fuel costs, slowing consumer demand and the impact of the credit crisis on banking liquidity.

Over 30 airlines have failed worldwide so far this year and a similar number are expected to collapse in coming months, as travel slows in the northern hemisphere winter.

The EU's new rules include emergency procedures for the replacement of airlines that fail while serving a remote region or island that depends on the air link for economic survival.

Most airlines in the U.S. have reduced their fares during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods.

In the worst slump seen since 2005, carriers are likely seeing the price reductions as necessary as the weak economy could seriously affect both leisure and business travel over the coming weeks and months. Industry experts are saying that these types of fare reductions aren’t typically offered until much closer to the actual holiday.

On Tuesday, Northwest Airlines led the way with a broad-based holiday airfare sale, and by the following day, most other major airlines were following suit, according to farecompare.com chief executive, Rick Seaney.

“It’s by far the most broad-based fare sale we’ve tracked in at least 18 months,” Seaney commented on Thursday, adding: “and this is the earliest I’ve ever seen one.”

The chief executive at the discount travel site bestfares.com, Tom Parsons, noted that there are still even better deals to be found by consumers considering alternate airports, and also by shopping around.

“I’ve been looking for this sale for two or three weeks,” said Parsons. “When I finally saw it, it was kind of a letdown.”

According to Parsons, the reduced fares offered by the major carriers were up to 25 per cent off on tickets purchased 21 or 30 in advance. He indicated that air travelers who considered using secondary airports will likely get larger price breaks.

German airline Lufthansa has announced that it will launch service connecting Inverness, in Scotland with Dusseldorf, Germany, beginning in the summer of 2009.The flight will operate on Saturdays during the June-September period.The airport operator, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL), has commented that the new flights were welcome news for the local economy.Lufthansa’s announcement of the new service follows in the wake of Icelandair cancelling scheduled flights between Glasgow and Reykjavik until next March.

Courchevel's airport also has a certain degree of obloquy in the aviation industry as home to one of the shortest runways in the world, with a length of 525 metres and a gradient of 18.5% in order to help slow landing aircraft.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, in the Netherlands Antilles. It is well known among experienced fliers for the way in which airplanes must approach or take off from the airport.

Princess Juliana International Airport is a most dangerous airport in island of Saint Martin. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean.The airport is illustrious for its short landing strip. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over Maho Beach.

United Airlines is bringing home the gold after being named the best North American airline by two Asian travel publications. Travel Trade Gazette Asia honored United today with the award, and Business Traveller Asia-Pacific recently recognized United with the same accolade for the eighth consecutive year.

“We appreciate the recognition from travel agents and our customers for the investments we are making to provide them with a comfortable, enjoyable travel experience to destinations across North America,” says Mark Schwab, vice president - Pacific. “The Asia-Pacific region has always been an important part of United’s global strategy, and we are strengthening that commitment with the improvements we are making to our international first and business class seats, entertainment and dining.”

United’s all-new United First Suite and United Business seats give the airline the distinction of being the first U.S. network carrier to offer 180 degree fully-flat beds in business class. The new seats, which also have on-demand entertainment and cuisine from world-renowned chef Charlie Trotter, are currently available to United customers on nonstop flights between Hong Kong and San Francisco and Hong Kong and Singapore. United expects some flights between Chicago, Hong Kong, and Ho Chi Minh City to offer the new international service later this month.

United is also the only U.S. carrier to offer three cabins of service on all of its international overseas flights. In addition to its first and business services, United offers economy class with its Economy Plus® seating that provides up to 5 extra inches of legroom.

US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) announced today that as part of a comprehensive liquidity program launched in mid August, the Company has raised approximately $950 million of financing and near-term liquidity commitments. On October 20, 2008 the Company closed on $800 million of these transactions with $400 million of proceeds used to prepay the Company's $1.6 billion bank debt facility. In exchange for this prepayment, the unrestricted cash covenant contained in the loan agreement for the bank debt facility has been reduced from $1.25 billion to $850 million. The loan agreement's term remains the same at seven years with substantially all of the principal amount payable at maturity in March 2014. The remaining proceeds from these financing transactions, approximately $370 million after payment of certain bank and other service fees, increase the Company's total cash position and will be used for general corporate purposes. The remaining $150 million of liquidity commitments are expected to close during the fourth quarter, with cash benefits realized through 2009.

Delta Air Lines will expand its service to the African continent with the introduction of the first and only flight between Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Monrovia’s Roberts International Airport, Liberia*. The service, which will make a stop at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island, Cape Verde*, will start in June, 2009.

Passengers on the only flight between the U.S. and Liberia will benefit from significant time savings over other routes. They also will be able to connect to more than 150 destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean via Delta’s Atlanta hub.

Look for Air Canada to launch seasonal nonstop service between Orlando and Halifax early next year. The scenic East Coast nonstop is scheduled to run from February 6 through May 10, 2009, and Air Canada will use a full-size A319 twinjet on the route.

Those A319s are fitted with both Economy and Executive Class eats. Every seat comes with personal in-flight audio-video.

AirTran continues to sell upgrades when you book, at the ticket counter, and at the gate, but this, as far as Cheapflights knows, is an absolutely new way to get a seat up front. It could work wondrously well if you’re at the end of a long day on an otherwise chockablock flight, and want some room and a couple of “free” drinks.

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. The concept originated in the United States before spreading to Europe in the early 1990s and subsequently to much of the rest of the world.

Typical low-cost carrier business model include:* a single passenger class.* a single type of reducing training and servicing costs.* a minimum set of optional equipment on the aeroplane.* a simple fare scheme one-way tickets half that of round-trips.* unreserved seating encouraging passengers to board early.* flying to cheaper, less congested secondary airports* fast turnaround times allowing maximum use of aircraft* use of direct flights reduce luggage transferred Cost.* emphasis on direct sales of tickets especially over the Internet.* employees working in multiple roles (limiting personnel costs)* Aggressive fuel hedging programs

Kingfisher Airlines is India’s first and only five-star airline and the only one to offer a premium first class service on domestic routes. Besides being the first and only airline in India to offer inflight entertainment on every seat, Kingfisher Airlines offers 5 channels of specially chosen content along with 16 channels of live TV and 10 exciting radio channels. The airline has received numerous awards for innovation, customer responsiveness and was voted the “Best New Airline of the Year” within months of its launch. It has also been one of the most visible brands in India with Brand Reporter awarding it the 2nd most Buzziest brand in 2007. Kingfisher Airlines is part of The UB Group that is one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests and a global presence. The UB Group is also the largest Indian manufacturer of beverage alcohol (beer and spirits) and the second largest drinks group in the world.

Spirit Airlines encourages using our Pre-Purchased Checked Bags service online. All customers traveling now have the option of paying in advance for checked baggage. The benefits in pre-purchasing your bags online are, guaranteed space for up to one (1) bag per flight, saves time at check-in and saves $10 on the first checked bag each way. Customers can check baggage online up to one (1) hour prior to flight departure.

Discount airline Virgin America itself as the only airline in America that lets you order food and drink by using a button on your seatback entertainment system, or the handheld remote control in your armrest. The food you order fits the California face that the San Francisco-based carrier projects. It's fresh, and healthy.

The world's second highest airport, in an ethnically Tibetan part of China's southwestern province of Sichuan, will open this month, a Chinese newspaper said on Monday.

The airport, in the mainly Tibetan area of Kangding, is 4,280 metres (14,040 ft) above sea level, second only to Qamdo Airport in Tibet at 4,334 metres.

The Chengdu Daily said China Eastern Airlines would start regular flights to Kangding before the end of October, flying from Yunnan's provincial capital Kunming to Kangding via Sichuan's capital, Chengdu.

The airport had originally been scheduled to open in May. The newspaper did not explain the delay, but Tibet and other Tibetan parts of China experienced violent unrest this spring.

The CNY960 million yuan (USD$140.6 million) airport is in a poor area near the scenic Gongga Mountains.

It is in an area so remote that Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, writing more than 1,000 years ago, said it was easier to get to heaven.

The government hopes the airport will bring in much needed tourist dollars and investment.

The airport is designed to handle 330,000 passengers a year and can accommodate 120-seat Boeing 737s and Airbus A319s.

China has embarked upon a multi-billion dollar program in recent years to revamp old airports and build new ones, especially in the country's remote west, as a way of boosting the economy.

In 2006, China opened Tibet's third airport, in Nyingchi, which is nearly 3,000 metres above sea level.

Kingfisher Airlines head Vijay Mallya indicated that if the slump in the market continues, more job cuts and lay-offs may take place in the aviation industry.

"If the slump in the market continues then the number of flights will have to go down.... and when we ground the planes it will have effects," Mallya, a former MP, told reporters outside Parliament. He was responding to a question on whether airlines may lay-off more employees in the near future.

He, however, refused to say whether he had met any minister or Government official over the crisis in the aviation sector. Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal held a meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Jet had recently removed 1900 employees only to reinstate them a day later, allegedly due to Government pressure.

However, Goyal had said that he changed his decision on humanitarian grounds.

Mallya said the airline industry was going through a bad phase. "Firstly, the cost of fuel has become too high, secondly the sales tax imposed by the states is very high. If we increase the air fares people don't want to spend too much money in this economy. So the Government should rethink about the taxes," he said.

The flamboyant industrialist, who also has major stakes in the liquor business, said he did not have any complaints over the Government's response to the demands of the airline industry.

"The Government response has been a lot more urgent and a lot more decisive. The Government has other issues to deal with in the national interest and we hope our turn will come sooner than later," he said.

Asked about the turbulence in the economy, Mallya said, "This is not the first example, there are several examples in the world and Governments have reacted to them."

Turkish Airlines, carried 16.8 million passengers in the January to September period, a rise year-on-year of 14.3percent, it said on Monday.

The Turkish flag carrier said in a statement to the stock exchange that available seat kilometres rose 10 percent year-on-year to 34.1 billion for the period, and revenue passenger kilometres rose 12.6 percent to 25.5 billion.

A United Airlines pilot has been arrested on a passenger plane at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being above the legal alcohol limit, police said on Monday.

Officers boarded a United Airlines plane at Terminal 1 before it was due to take off on Sunday and arrested the 44-year-old under transport safety laws. The pilot, who has not been named, was given police bail to January 16 next year, pending further inquiries.

A United Airlines spokeswoman said he has been suspended from duties, but declined to name the flight or give further details of the incident.

In a statement, the airline said: "United Airlines' alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy.

"Safety is our number one priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with the authorities and conducting a full investigation.